FRC TEAM 6800 VALOR
VIPERBOTS ROBOTICS
Charged Up in Texas!
Worlds Championships Houston 2023
Excellence in Engineering Award
Galileo Division, Rank 5, record 9-4-0
Alliance 5 Captain, quarterfinals (M9)
UIL/FIRST in Texas State Championships Houston 2023
Quality Award Winner
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (Michael Ray)
Apollo District - Alliance 4, 1st Pick, Quarter-finals
FIRST in Texas San Antonio District Event 2023
Finalist and Alliance Captain
Excellence in Engineering Award
Rank 2 in Qualifiers
FIRST in Texas Waco District Event 2023
Autonomous Award by Ford
Alliance 1, 1st Pick, Semi-finalist (M12)
Rank 4 in Qualifiers
MEET OUR ROBOT
It all starts with our 23" square chassis, driven by WCP Neo Swerve X Modules, designed with a meticulous build, added structure and weight at the lowest points, to give us speed, mobility, and a great base with low CG potential.
Our intake rotates with precision in concert with our dual carbon fiber arm. The arm launches up the 47" elevator at a blistering 0.3 second travel time. The robot is decked out with a top mounted camera for assisted scoring and alignment, a reverse kinematic software model, and a well-tuned control system.
Watch our matches to see this bot in action! It is fast, nimble, rapid intake from either side, cable of throwing or placing to either side or position, robust, and ready to compete.
For more details, see our tech binder.
OUR TEAM STRUCTURE
VALOR has a sub team structure in place modeled largely after the technology production industry.
FRC teams typically have many sub teams because the business of technology production also includes these important sectors.
Veteran students are given leadership roles on these sub teams and mentor the rookies.
DESIGN
Our CAD leads are essentially Project Managers in producing the entire robot design in On Shape, and focus on designing custom parts for specific tasks. They then direct the Fabrication crew which parts need to be produced in what priority order.
FABRICATION
Our Manufacturing team uses not only power tools but CNC routers, lathes, and a powder coating machine to create custom parts to spec from the CAD design. They also alter off the shelf parts as needed by the build team.
Our Build team is responsible for putting the structure together, wiring all the components, and ensuring all the mechanical and electrical components work properly. They continually update and improve the robot during the season. The pit crew specializes in preparing, maintaining, and repairing the robot during competitions quickly with great accuracy.
PROGRAMMING
Our Software Team develops the C++ code that allows the drive team to operate the robot, as well as perform tasks without drivers during the autonomous period of the game. The programs are hundreds, often thousands of lines of code because of the many motors, servos, sensors, and other complex electronic components involved.
DRIVE TEAM
At competition, each robot is allowed a three person drive team. One person typically drives the robot chassis while a second person operates the attachments. The third person is the drive coach, who directs the other two of available scoring opportunities and can look ahead and at different parts of the field for strategic planning. It is important to note that the drive team does not have full visibility to the field, and have to perform in front of a stadium of people cheering.
STRATEGY
When the season game is revealed, the team evaluates all the scoring opportunities and prioritizes them. Then the team breaks into groups to evaluate what drive train, chassis, and attachments need to be created and provide that to the design team.
Our scouting team reviews robot performance of other teams, and keeps detailed statistics that are otherwise readily not available to others.
The alliance selection team uses this data to help the drive team prepare for matches, and when the team advances to the quarter finals at a competition, tells them who the most compatible teams are to pick for their alliance partners.
MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Our marketing team is responsible for recording our team's progress and presenting it to judges and sponsors. They also manage our social media presence and help coordinate our outreach in the community